India clinch squash gold, beat Pak 10-2 in hockey

India and Pakistan have found an unusual venue to celebrate their vaunted rivalry, and the world is watching. Just yesterday (Friday), India's young pistol sensations Palak Gulia and Esha Singh took the gold and silver in women's 10m air pistol range with Pakistan's Kishmala Talat for company in third. Less than 24 hours later, Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra was posed with the inevitable Arshad Nadeem question, and as the day wore on, the India-Pakistan chatter intensified with India's men's squash team beating Pakistan in a hotly contested final in Hangzhou Sports Park Gymnasium.

- Shantanu Srivastava

Less than 15 kilometres away in Gongshu Canal Sports Park Stadium, India's men's hockey team decimated the neighbours 10-2 in their pool match to round off a day of India's dominance over the traditional rivals. While the storied rivalry between the two proud hockey nations is a thing of the past, success in squash in what was billed as a "grudge match" triggered wild celebration in the Indian camp.

"It was perhaps the most intense match I had seen," said the seasoned Joshana Chinappa, watching the squash action unfold. Dipika Pallikal, among the torchbearers of squash in the country, concurred. "Our smart watches were consistently beeping high stress signals. It was quite a match."

For Abhay Singh, the star of the evening who won the 64-minute decider against Noor Zaman, the match was a statement to the other side. "We don't mix the India-Pakistan feud in sports, but if the other side decides to do it, it is their call," he said without getting into the specifics.

"There was a lot of talk from the other side three nights ago, and quite a lot on social media... well, I am looking forward to some tonight. There was no banter but proper one-sided jabs. I am going to make some noise on social media tonight," he seethed.